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EUGENE, Ore. - University of Oregon student fees will be $550 per term starting next fall to help pay for renovation of the student union and student rec center.

Fees also pay for the health center, campus clubs and bus passes.

But in the case of the Erb Memorial Union and the Student Recreation Center, the students who pay now may have graduated by the time expanion and reconstruction are complete.

Sam Dotters-Katz, the Associated Students of the Univerity of Oregon president, said paying the fees is part of leaving a legacy on campus for future generations. is part of the legacy..

"They wonder why they should be forced to pay for something they won't end up benefiting from," he said, "but if you look around this campus, all the beautiful buildings we have and services we've received, someone else had to pay for those to have them as well.

"These are the two buildings more than anywhere else that are the hubs of the student experience on this campus," he said. "They are bustling vibrant places, but they are over grown and badly needing to be remodeled."

Dotters-Katz said students voted by a large margin to have buildings renovated.

The EMU was built in 1951 and is in very poor shape, Dotters-Katz said. The student body president said his constituents tell him they avoid the rec center gym because the lines are so long to use the equipment. Plans call for doubling the size of the current rec center.

Nicolas Rodriguez said he understands why he'll have to pay the fee.

"It's got to come from somewhere," he said, "and if they're student-imposed, then students are the ones wanting these new renovating things, then I can't be too upset about it."

But Jordan Navarra said paying for something she might never use isn't her first choice.

"I see the benefits of doing it for the future generations," she said, "but it is a little frustrating having it go directly on us."